"Rome nominates, the pope nominates. That is clear!”

“I have never, never given a pardon on a conviction.”

The pope said he knows that young people “are upset by sexual and economic scandals that do not meet with clear condemnation.”

Napoleon’s consolidation of power in France in 1801 involved the recognition of the pope as the “ordinary and immediate pastor” of the universal church—a key component in the impending agreement between the Vatican and China.

It was an important message for the 2.2 million people of Latvia, where today 37 percent of the population are Russian.

On his second day in Lithuania, Pope Francis traveled 65 miles to Kaunas, the country’s second largest city, to celebrate Mass in Santakos Park for more than 100,000 people.